Seventeen years ago, The Faint ushered in the return of synthesizers to the modern musical landscape with the release of 1999’s Blank-Wave Arcade. The world took note and the dance-rock movement of the early 00’s followed in its wake. In the ensuing years, the band’s consistent evolution cemented their status as one of the most forward thinking and influential forces in dance-rock. CAPSULE:1999-2016, surveys The Faint’s most renowned output over that timespan, while also taking a look at what the future holds for the acclaimed Omaha electro-punks. Seventeen tracks from the era are included in this retrospective, with contributions from Blank-Wave Arcade, Danse Macabre, Wet From Birth, Fasciinatiion, Doom Abuse, and 2016’s “Young & Realistic” single; as well as two brand new songs, “Skylab1979” and “ESP.”

1999's "Animation" was the second album from MVP (Mike Vescera Project). Vescera, of course, is best known as the singer from Obsession, and his stints with Loudness and Yngwie Malmsteen. He’s joined here by guitarists Roland Grapow (Masterplan, ex-Helloween), Roy Z (Halford, Bruce Dickinson) and Joe Stump (Reign of Terror).

Many figured that the Red Hot Chili Peppers' days as undisputed alternative kings were numbered after their lackluster 1995 release One Hot Minute, but like the great phoenix rising from the ashes, this legendary and influential outfit returned back to greatness with 1999's Californication.

Eddie Money album Ready Eddie is a good music album, Ready Eddie release at May 18, 1999. Featuring a very tight band, and the guitar talents of Survivor's Frankie Sullivan, 1999's 'Ready Eddie' is one of Eddie Money's best albums ever, featuring a collection of hard-driving rock'n'roll songs that only dreams are made of. It's hard to name a favorite here since all the songs count!

One of Spain's longest-running heavy metal exports, Dark Moor was founded in 1993 by Madrid-based guitarist Enrik Garcia, and after honing their fantasy-laced power metal via three demo tapes (1996's Tales of the Dark Moor, 1998's Dreams of Madness, and 1999's Flying), signed with the independent Arise label for the release of their full-length debut, 1999's Shadowland.

The Atomic Fireballs were formed in Detroit in 1996 by John Bunkley and James Bostek. The two of them met when Bostek's wife was working with Bunkley and introduced them. Although the group plays their own brand of high-energy swing music, they list their influences to be as far ranging as Louis Jordan and Black Flag. The lineup of the group is Bostek on trumpet, Bunkley on vocals, Tony Buccilli playing trombone, Duke Kingins on guitar, Shawn Scaggs on double bass, Eric Schabo wailing tenor sax, and Randy Sly on piano. Their first album was the self-released Birth of the Swerve (1998). The album was good enough to garner the interest of major labels. That meant that the follow-up, 1999's Torch This Place, was not an independent release but rather on Atlantic.

1999's The Earth Pressed Flat finds 10,000 Maniacs exploring similar musical terrain as their previous album, Love Among the Ruins, on which singer Mary Ramsey debuted. Ramsey sounds less like a stand-in and more like a frontwoman on The Earth Pressed Flat, which was released on the indie label Bar None. Fittingly, the album sounds more folky and down to earth than some of their previous albums. The album was recorded over the course of four years at the group's home studio, on the road, and in traditional studios; it also incorporates recordings of found sounds and rehearsals for a dreamlike, fluid continuity.

Original Jefferson Starship band members Marty Balin, Jack Casady, and Paul Kantner were back with some songs about the millennium, protests, and life in general on 1999's Windows of Heaven. Guest vocalist Grace Slick, who sings on one track, makes the album almost a full-scale reunion. New bandmates Prairie Prince (the Tubes) and T. Lavitz (Dixie Dregs, Jazz Is Dead) add even more spice to the mix, as the offshoot of one of San Francisco's finest '60s psychedelic bands prepared itself for the 21st century.

Stereolab took an unprecedented two years between 1997's Dots & Loops and 1999's Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night, as they tended to personal matters. During those two years, Stereolab's brand of sophisticated, experimental post-rock didn't evolve too much, even as colleagues like Tortoise, Jim O'Rourke, and the High Llamas tried other things. Since each Stereolab album offered a significant progression from the next, it would have been fair to assume that when they returned, it would be with a leap forward, especially since Tortoise's John McEntire and O'Rourke were co-producers. Perhaps that's the reason that the album feels slightly disappointing. The group has absorbed McEntire's jazz-fusion leanings – "Fuses" kicks off the album in compelling, free-jazz style – and the music continually bears O'Rourke's attention to detail, but it winds up sounding like O'Hagan's increasing tendency of making music that's simply sound for sound's sake.

The heaps of praise during 2000 surrounding 1999's Ágatis Byrjun brought surprisingly little attention to Sigur Rós' first record, released in 1997. Remaining available only through the band's Icelandic label, it took some effort to obtain, but those who did get a copy probably found it to be just as adventurous as Agatis. Though darker and more fractured than the string-laden nooks of the follow-up, it's just as sprawling and outright bombastic. It's remarkable that such a young band would be this experimental at this stage in their lifespan, but the sheer breadth gets to be an albatross. Poking fun at '70s prog rock is just as easy as shooting at cement gargoyles on a suburban rooftop, especially when you're an indie kid or a fan of post-rock.